Electric snow blowers tackle big jobs without the gasoline fumes – St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Ego Power+ is among newer electric snowblowers that tackle big jobs without gasoline fumes. Theyre powered by battery packs that provide ample range and replenish quickly. (egopowerplus.com)

Shoveling snow is a hassle and potential health hazard, as I discovered when I moved from a high-rise condo into a house decade ago. I hurt my right arm at one point because of all that hard hauling, which Id luckily managed to avoid for most of my life.

So, for the past few winters, Ive been trying out snow blowers. I didnt want to deal with smelly, polluting ones that use gasoline, however, so Ive focused exclusively on electric snow blowers.

These are fun and often effective to use, but do have their shortcomings.

Modern electric snow blowers (and similar contraptions, such as electric lawn mowers) typically work off battery packs that you recharge separately and slide into slots when you are set to get workin.

Though gas-powered snow blowers will typically go farther on a single tank than electric blowers do on a single charge, you can keep additional charged batteries on standby to boost your range.

This article focuses on two electric blowers I tested. I am also adding information about a third blower one of my editors recently bought and has come to like despite a few issues.

The maker of this model claims it is the only cordless snow blower thats as powerful as gas. This is a squishy claim given the wide range of gas blowers on the market, but it is accurate in one sense: The Ego Power+ makes short work of accumulated snow that is up to one foot high.

That is largely due to its robust 56-volt batteries. I have been using the top-end 7.5Ah version of the battery, which packs more of a punch than lesser Ego packs. The mower has slots for two of the batteries, giving me enough power to effortlessly clear my own property along with sidewalks in a one-block radius, or more. The batteries replenish quickly via Egos upright Power+ Rapid Charger.

The Ego Power+ has lots of plastic in its construction, but still feels durable (though only time would truly tell). It is compact and reasonably lightweight, but using it is a major workout because it isnt self-propelled like many gas blowers get ready to feel a bit sore in the morning!

Key features include:

The blower has appeal well beyond its snow-removal features. The Ego Power+ happens to be part of a product ecosystem built around those big batteries.

Ego offers a line of lawn mowers some self-propelled that also harness the power packs. I have tested one of Egos non-propelled mowers, and I like it and it requires only a single 5.0Ah battery. There are also Ego leaf blowers, garden edgers, trimmers, chain saws and more.

Pricing on the Ego Power+ snow blower depends on whether (and which) batteries are included. Home Depot sells the blower for $649, which includes two 5.0Ah batteries with one charger.

For somewhat less challenging jobs, Snow Joe offers a fairly decent blower that gets its juice two ways its battery-powered, and also plugs into an AC outlet for use with an extension cord.

The Ion Hybrid accommodates a single 40-volt, 4.0Ah battery that does not pack as much punch as the Ego one does but is more than sufficient to clear your sidewalk and driveway with power to spare. The battery is smaller and more compact than the Ego ones. So, when testing out this blower, I carried a couple of spare batteries in a backpack to triple my range.

With this blower, I had to be keep my expectations in check. It struggles with snow higher than 6 or 8 inches, and its all but helpless against densely packed or heavy, wet snow. It throws snow only 20 feet or so, and has only an 18-inch clearing width. It is not self-propelled, though it is small enough that this mostly doesnt matter.

Corded power is a nice bonus. AC revs up the blower more than the battery pack typically does, getting you through jobs more quickly. On the other hand, a cord limits range I had to stay on my property and could not go on around-the-block sidewalk-clearing forays.

The manufacturer nails it when it describes this blower as ideal for quick snow pickups on mid-sized driveways and walkways. Its an honest and realistic assessment.

One thing I hated about this blower: The chute rotates electrically via a switch, and not mechanically (though you can brute-force it if you want). I often couldnt get the power turning to work dependably.

Durability might also be an issue. After working the blower hard over several months, I could not get battery mode to keep working reliably though the corded mode was fine.

But the Ion Hybrid is affordable. Amazon and Walmart are offering it online for about $251, including one battery with a charger.

This blower is quite similar in design, functionality and power to the Ego model. I havent used it, but my editor Jaime DeLage recently bought one and gave me his impressions.

Like the Ego, the Flex-Force has a pair of slots to accommodate batteries of various capacities. The blower can run off a single 7.5Ah pack, for instance. My editor opted for a pair of 6.0Ah batteries but found one was sufficient for many jobs.

I do a longer-than-average St. Paul block, plus my bus stop, a corner pedestrian access and a mid-block pedestrian access all on one charge, Jaime said. That includes grinding through some pretty tough plow ridges in the pedestrian ramps. Ive even cleared the pedestrian access and fire hydrant across the street a couple of times (that neighbor just had a baby). Besides having a surprisingly strong motor and long-lasting batteries, it also cleans right down to the pavement, unlike some big gas snow blowers.

Jaime ticked off a few other features:

The blower, like the Ego model, is part of an ecosystem that includes mowers and other tools. The same battery packs run all the tools, Jaime said. But he noted one potential shortcoming with the Toro system.

The optimal temp range for the batteries is 41-104F, which is fine for mowing grass but obviously not ideal for blowing snow, he said. At first I was keeping the batteries and charger in the unheated garage, but I started charging and storing them in the house when they refused to take a charge a couple of times in single-digit temps. The snowblower seems to operate just fine in single-digit temps, but the charger doesnt like it.

(I experienced some Ego Power+ charging issues that also may be related to cold temperatures, and the manual lists 32 to 104 degrees as the optimal charging temperatures, so I plan to emulate Jaime in taking my charging indoors to see if that clears things up.)

He added a caveat: I think the biggest snow Ive tackled was about 4 or 5 inches, so I cant say (the blower is) blizzard-tested yet.

One other shortcoming: The blower is not self-propelled like many gas blowers and electric mowers.

Cost is another potential down side: The blower retails at Home Depot for $849, including two 6.0Ah batteries with a charger, which is $200 more than a similar Ego kit. But Jaime thinks its money well spent.

Its nice to have choices. The Snow Joe model is a reasonably capable snow blower that doesnt break the bank. The Toro blower packs a punch, but it is on the pricey side. Egos Power+ might be the best overall option with performance roughly comparable to that of the Toro at a much lower cost.

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Electric snow blowers tackle big jobs without the gasoline fumes - St. Paul Pioneer Press